About

From its office in Clayton, Missouri, Danna McKitrick, P.C., delivers legal representation to new and growing businesses, financial institutions, non-profit and government-related entities, business owners, individuals, and families throughout the greater St. Louis region and the Midwest.

Danna McKitrick attorneys practice across many areas of law, both industry- and service-oriented.

A recent turn of events in a San Francisco neighborhood should prompt you and your entity to confirm that your contact information is up-to-date. As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, residents of a private street, lined with multi-million dollar homes, recently learned that their street had been purchased by real estate investors at a tax sale after the homeowner’s association failed to pay its annual $14 property tax bill for several decades. The association claimed it was unaware of its tax obligations because the county tax bills were apparently sent to the address of a former accountant who hadn’t worked for the homeowners since the 1980s. The residents have filed a lawsuit seeking to undo the tax sale and while their success in that endeavor is uncertain, two things are certainly true—this was a costly and completely avoidable mistake.

While it is prudent to review all of your entity’s contact information to make sure creditors, vendors, and others can easily and consistently communicate with your entity, there are two specific records that are critically important—the contact information of your registered agent and the mailing address for your local real estate taxes. Continue reading »

Community associations continue to struggle with the emergence of the “sharing economy” issues raised by AirBnB, VRBO and other online outlets (see CNN Money article: Why everyone is cracking down on Airbnb).

When addressing these issues, condominium, townhome, and neighborhood association boards should consider the following steps as a proactive approach to maintaining their desired community environment:

Be vigilant. The good news is that you are only a few mouse clicks away from finding out whether your owners are making short term or transient leases. Nearly all of these sharing economy services are online and searchable by location. Additionally, urge other residents to keep an eye out for new faces on a regular basis.

Know the rules. Does your association prohibit short term leasing or lodging? Is permission required to rent? Do tenants have access to all common areas? The answers to these questions should all be found in your governing document, the declaration or indenture and possibly in your rules and regulations as well. Know the rules of the game and consider whether they should be updated or amended to address emerging issues.

The popularity of vacationing or traveling via bed and breakfast lodging, or, as more popularly known, “BnB,” is rapidly on the rise. The concept allows an owner with a vacant house, condominium, apartment, or even a single room, to create investment property by listing the space on a website for rent to vacation and business travelers, often for very short stays and possibly as short as a single night. Property owners can make a little extra money, and travelers can often find better accommodations at lower prices. Add in the ease of use by listing your space on the internet – airbnb.com and vrbo.com are among the most popular sites – and this is a quickly expanding industry.

Frequently, the phenomenon overlooks the legal ramifications of being a short-term landlord, or essentially acting as a hotel or lodge. Some local governments are addressing the issue and requiring that property owners apply for permitting, pay taxes, or maintain compliance with other local rules relating to lodging or short-term leasing. However, the Airbnb concept also runs afoul of various considerations applicable to community associations, specifically condominiums and townhomes. Continue reading »

A St. Louis bookkeeper recently pled guilty to wire fraud for embezzling more than $70,000 from his condominium association. His scheme spanned more than two years and involved more than 50 unauthorized wire transfers from the association’s financial accounts to the bookkeeper’s own personal bank accounts. Unfortunately for condominium and homeowner associations, this type of activity is all too common and demonstrates the critical need for associations to prepare and implement systems of financial checks and balances.

What each association’s system should entail to sufficiently reduce the risk of improper financial activity (while also recognizing the need for effective and responsive management) will vary from association to association depending on several factors, including association size, level of involvement from the homeowners, and governing rules. However, many effective systems begin with distributing financial supervision and actions between several individuals. This practice includes: Continue reading »